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Government to miss employment targets for disabled people

Published: May 31, 2016

The government is set to miss its employment target for disabled people by 2020, according to the TUC.

Analysis by the union concluded the government is some years away from halving the employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people.

The government had previously pledged to have around two-thirds of disabled people in employment by 2020, but current progress suggests that it could take until 2030 to achieve this target.

Around 52 per cent of disabled people are set to be in work by the end of the current decade, with many still facing workplace discrimination.

Figures from the TUC revealed full-time disabled workers earned 13 per cent – equal to £75 a week – less than full-time non-disabled people in 2015, while part-time disabled workers earn 14 per cent (£30) less per week than part-time non-disabled workers.

According to the TUC, recent government cuts have also impacted significantly on the success of initiatives such as Access to Work.

The union’s general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The government is years behind schedule in achieving its employment target for disabled people.

“While ministers are right to prioritise getting more disabled people into work, they are going about things the wrong way.

“Unless we do more to break down the barriers disabled people face, applying for jobs and staying in work, then progress will remain painfully slow.”